A COUPLE living along the A54 are considering taking their case to the European Court of Human Rights after traffic congestion has made their lives hell.

Alan Brough and his wife Valerie only moved into Sunningdale Gardens a year ago but have suffered incessant noise and vibration from the heavy goods vehicles which go thundering by. Their sleep deprivation is so bad Mrs Brough has resorted to sleeping on the downstairs sofa.

Mr Brough, 67, whose house backs onto the M6 gateway from Jersey Way, said: 'We moved here for a quiet, peaceful retirement. But the whole house just shudders and shakes. Valerie has never slept in the bed since we moved here and I am also sleeping with great difficulty.

'The problem is really noticeable upstairs. And the noise is terrible, whenever a truck goes over one of the potholes, it's like a gun going off.'

Mr Brough, a retired airline manager, is so fed up he has sent a video to Congleton Borough Council. Welcome to the A54 ­ the road that wrecks lives shows the level of traffic and captures glasses of water shaking on top of the water closet in the bathroom.

Last week a landmark ruling by the European Court of Human Rights ruled night flights in and out of Heathrow Airport were in contravention of residents' basic human rights.

Mr Brough said: 'We've noted the decision with interest. The European Court of Human Rights has said that people are entitled to get a good night's sleep. This is a landmark decision that will affect a lot of people.'

Derek Sewell of Congleton Borough Council highways department said: 'We hope to have Middlewich eastern bypass under construction as soon as funding arrangements are in place.

'Cheshire County Council is looking at the whole of the A54 corridor in a traffic study.

'In the short term, Congleton joint highways will be extending the 30mph speed limit along the A54 to the Sproston side of the Pochin roundabout in the near future.'